George R. R. Martin Quotes

The truth of it is, writers do have peculiar relationships with their characters. They are our children in more senses than one. They are born of our imaginations, carry much of ourselves in them, and embody whatever dreams we dream of immortality.

Something about the howling of a wolf took a man right out of his here and now and left him in a dark forest of the mind, running naked before the pack.

We will fight a battle, and then we will rest. Alive or dead, we'll rest." - Jon Snow

The stone is strong. Bran told himself, the roots of the trees go deep, and under the ground the Kings of Winter sit their thrones. So long as those remained, Winterfell remained. It was not dead, just broken. Like me, he thought. I'm not dead either.

He wished he could relieve himself of his doubts and guilts half as easily.

Men are men, vows are words, and words are wind.

Only a fool humbles himself when the world is so full of men eager to do that job for him. (Theon Greyjoy)

But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.

Faith is like porridge. Better with milk and honey.

I heard of a man who had a razor made of Valyrian steel. He cut his head off trying to shave.

Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain who you are or what you want, they cannot know what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way to baffle them is to make moves that have no purpose, or even seem to work against you. Remember that, Sansa, when you come to play the game.” “What . . . what game?” “The only game. The game of thrones.” -(Littlefinger)

Some allies are more dangerous than enemies.

Writing is like sausage making in my view; you'll all be happier in the end if you just eat the final product without knowing what's gone into it.

Men have scars, women mysteries.

Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli.

You may be as different as the sun and the moon, but the same blood flows through both your hearts. You need her, as she needs you.

A lot of fantasy names are too much. They’re too difficult to pronounce. I wanted the flavour of medieval England. I took actual names we still use today, like ‘Robert’, and in some case I tweaked them a little bit. I made ‘Edward’ into ‘Eddard’. If you look back at medieval times, no one knew how to spell their own names. There are a lot of variations that we’ve lost.

I prefer to work with grey characters rather than black and white.

It seemed cruel for a day to dawn so fair and end so foul as this one promised to.

Sooner would be better than later, and now would be better than sooner." - Tyrion

There are two kinds of writers. There are architects and gardeners. The architects do blueprints before they drive the first nail. The gardeners just dig a hole and plant the seed and see what comes up.

It is one thing to be clever and another to be wise.

I buried him with mine own hands, in a place he showed me once when I was a squire at Storm’s End. No one shall ever find him there to disturb his rest.” He looked at Jaime defiantly. “I will defend King Tommen with all my strength, I swear it. I will give my life for his if need be. But I will never betray Renly, by word or deed. He was the king that should have been. He was the best of them.

Not all men were meant to dance with dragons.

Woman? Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man. - Daenerys Targaryen

I stayed sober for this?

We only make peace with our enemies. That's why it's called making peace.

Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it’s always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining.

How do you fight someone if you can't hit them?

I am surrounded by flatterers and fools.

The years leech at a man's memories, even those he has vowed never to forget.

Is it treason to say the truth? A bitter truth, but no less true for that.

...the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword." "...a ruler who hides behind paid executioners soon forgets what death is.

I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.

Only the soldier pines and sentinels still showed green; the broadleaf trees had donned mantles of russet and gold, or else uncloaked themselves to scratch against the sky with branches brown and bare.

Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.

You must put these dreams aside, they will only break your heart.

I work for two years on a book and it comes out and two days later I've got my first e-mail: When is the next one coming out?

I am the blood of the dragon. Do not presume to teach me lessons.

There are things to be learned even from the dead.

The maester smiled...Hush now, child, I'm much older than you. I can....die as I please.

Some men want whores on the eve of battle, and some want gods. Jon wondered who felt better afterward.

Love is poison. A sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same.

Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own stories.

Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark. And you. A small man with a big shadow, snarling in the midst of all.

I am only a little lion, child, and I vow, I shall not savage you.

Sleep is good, he said, And books are better.

Ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow. Tyrion smiled. Lord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I'd feel sad about it. I will take that as high praise.